James Brown's Live at the Garden Being Reissued in Expanded Edition

James Brown was well known for his live performances and everyone knows that Live at the Apollo is the benchmark for live albums by not only Brown but most performers. Forgotten is that Apollo was early in his career and there was a lot of great music and number of other live albums that came out over the following four decades.

One of those almost forgotten gems is his Live at the Garden, which was originally issued in late-1967. The purpose of the album was to highlight Brown's ascension to the top of his field with his headlining stint at New York's Madison Square Garden. What is little known is that the concert on the album was actually recorded at the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and overdubbed with applause and the echo of an arena to make it sound like a huge venue show.

Hip-O Select is taking the recording of the show back to its original sound in the Latin Casino for the expanded version of Live at the Garden. Gone is the huge applause and echo, bringing back the small club intimacy of the original tapes.

The release includes the original album in mono for the first time in the U.S. followed by the newly restored complete show from the casino, including the full opening instrumental set with Brown conducting from the organ and a ten-minute version of Night Train. Brown's performance set is also enhanced by a number of songs that were cut from the original release, including Papa's Got a Brand New Bag and It's a Man's Man's Man's World. Finishing out the album are three takes on Let Yourself Go as recorded in the empty casino.

A 24-page booklet includes an essay by co-producer Alan Leeds on the background of the album, rare photos and a roster of the tour personnel. Release is set for September 11 with a limited edition run of 5,000 copies.